Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Fee for Carriage in Canada - CBC solution

Canada’s national public broadcaster says it has a solution should the CRTC decide to introduce fee for carriage.

In a submission filed with the federal regulator on Monday, the CBC called for cable and satellite services to offer pared-down basic packages of Canadian TV channels at a regulated price.

“We think it’s critical that all Canadians–regardless of demographic or location–have access to an inexpensive package of essential Canadian television services,” said Hubert Lacroix, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. “That’s what our solution offers.”

The CBC recommendation comes in the middle of a tense debate between conventional TV broadcasters and the carriers that distribute their programming.

The TV broadcasters want the CRTC to introduce fee for carriage–force cable and satellite companies to pay a fee for carrying signals from conventional television stations.

Cable and satellite companies argue the fees would drive up the price they’d have to charge consumers.

CBC says the answer is a reduced package of essential Canadian channels, with the CRTC determining the minimum content and maximum price.

The idea that the government of a major advanced country would default on its debt -- that is, tell lenders that it won't repay them all they're owed -- was, until recently, a preposterous proposition. Argentina and Russia have stiffed their creditors, but surely the likes of the United States, Japan or Britain wouldn't. Well, it's still a very, very long shot, but it's no longer entirely unimaginable. Governments of rich countries are borrowing so much that it's conceivable that one day the twin assumptions underlying their burgeoning debt (that lenders will continue to lend and that governments will continue to pay) might collapse. What happens then? Defaulting Debt